Chitchat thread #24

[Nicos]

Snadge - I really enjoyed the tour of your plot.
Like Bren, I grow in my garden so don’t get to see many other peoples veggie plots.
I have several areas in my garden put over to potagers ( trying to make the most of areas of shade/ sun/ access to water…) and they are all in desperate need of weeding.
We put cardboard over large areas and that has definitely reduced the amount of weeding , but it’s still substantial
I love your herringbone beds ( is that how you describe them?) Did you notice much of a difference with the crops produced compared twith traditional rows?

[Snoop Puss]

Morning, all.

Minus 5 ºC when I got up two and a half hours ago, minus 4.5 now, so looks like today is going to warm up very slowly.

mothhawk, I got the recipe from here: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/...sesame-burgers
I add chilli flakes to make them a bit more interesting. The first time I made them, they were absolutely perfect. Held together really well. Thereafter, they've been a bit crumbly, not so good in a roll when that happens but fine on a plate. I'm with you on the kidney beans, as I really don't like them at all. I usually substitute with something else. They must be the only beans I don't like.

Me, I like purple violas with their dinky little faces. In fact, I really like purple flowers in general. And yellow.

Good luck at the hearing clinic, GF.

And Snadger, I'm sorry, I haven't watched your video yet. For assorted reasons, I have to watch videos after 1 am and Mr Snoop was hogging the computer last night for the selfsame reason. I'll try tonight.

Lots of work on today. Plus it's a slightly more relaxed diet day today. Ham, manchego and some slices of apple for breakfast. I've left a plateful over by the kettle, so help yourselves.

I got up a bit earlier today but the smiles were already gone. They told me yesterday they wanted to set off early to get a view from up high of the trees on the far side of the valley caught by the frost. Well, they were in luck. Some of the pines quite high up were covered in it. Very pretty, especially later when the sun came up. I might tell the smiles to wait a bit later tomorrow. Anyway, they should have been with you ages ago.

Have a great day, everyone.

[Bren In Pots]

Morning, the moon was huge last night it had a kind of halo around it very impressive.

I don't have pansies in my garden Nicos but I do have self seeding tricolor violas popping up all over my veg beds I only remove them if they're in the way. They were in the garden when we moved there nearly 40 year ago and have stayed here ever since.

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Sunny and windy here. Have a good day

[Jay22]

Morning a beautiful sunny calm morning…how long can it last?

I believe it’s called a Wolf Moon Bren.

Have a great day!

[lottie dolly]

hello all,bloomin cold,and sun is doing it's best,feel a bit lost today,got things do do but to cold outside,plus my growing space,and tools are not yet sorted for for use,other more important things have had to come first,be better when the winter has gone,am off now to find a film to watch,and just chill chill chill,have a good day all

[mothhawk]

Thanks for the recipe, Snoop, it sounds really good and I have all the ingredients so I will try it this week sometime.

After going for an overcast and drizzly walk this morning, it is now gloriously sunny. Typical. yesterday it was sunny early but I had a later walk when there was more cloud.

I see today the men in orange vis gear are drilling more test holes round the leisure centre to check for methane. With a bit of luck if they drill enough holes the gas will all vent off anyway.

[Snadger]

Snadge - I really enjoyed the tour of your plot.
Like Bren, I grow in my garden so don’t get to see many other peoples veggie plots.
I have several areas in my garden put over to potagers ( trying to make the most of areas of shade/ sun/ access to water…) and they are all in desperate need of weeding.
We put cardboard over large areas and that has definitely reduced the amount of weeding , but it’s still substantial
I love your herringbone beds ( is that how you describe them?) Did you notice much of a difference with the crops produced compared twith traditional rows?

I dunno whether I have mentioned this before but the majority of my beds are only 2 foot wide with 14 inch paths. Apparaently most garden centres/nurseries use the 14 inch paths. The 24 inch beds I developed myself and am really pleased with them. The generally acknowledged width of beds is 4 foot or 1 metre with the logic being you don't need to walk on the beds and can do everything from the paths. I find it's quite awkward to reach over to the centre of a 4 foot bed so thought why not use 2 foot beds which are easily reached from paths, or more importantly garedened by 'straddling' the beds and cultivating,planting or weeding that way normally shuffling backwards.I find it's much easier and no kneeling or stretching is required.
The herringbone beds were just set up to be summat a bit different from the usual plots and adds a wee bit of interest methinks. Some of the wooden sided beds were already on the plot so until the woodwork rots away I will just utilise them the way they are.

[Florence Fennel]

Looking at your plot was really enjoyable Snadger, thank you and going for narrower beds makes me wonder if it might make it easier for me to get back to growing.
I've just had a look for my snowdrops and they are about half an inch above the soil, so well on the way

[Snoop Puss]

I've made narrower beds, probably around 60 cm too. I've only got little legs, so the 4-ft width was absolutely no good. The number of times I've rearranged my beds beggars belief, but this narrow arrangement really suits me. In my winter patch, where possible I've got the beds arranged in fours, so there are three paths, the central one being very narrow, not much more than 20 cm, as I rarely need to use it. When I do so, it's exactly in the manner you describe, Snadger.

[greenishfing]

Mr GF's audiology appointment went well. He got new hearing aids and I got all the important information that he is liable to forget. In fact he is so happy with the new hearing aids that he has still got them in six hours later. Whoopee! No shouting or blaring TV as yet today.

While I had a couple of free hours this afternoon I decided to have a go at knitting one of the little bunnys that Nicos posted a link to. When I had knitted the main body and scarf it did look a bit like a snowman. Then I knitted an ear and sewed it on. Mmmmmm! I'll knit the other and post a photo but it definitely doesn't look like anything resembling a rabbit at the moment. Maybe the wool I used doesn't help, just some oddments.

[Bren In Pots]

Greenishfing if they looked cute as snowmen knit a few as decorations for later in the year, a string of them would look good.

[lottie dolly]

evening,son came and done some tiding up outside,then i went a ride with him to the scrap yard,it was nice to get out the walls,had one my emotional afternoons,trying to process my life,i suppose it will keep occurring from time to time,have managed to eat something proper,but have slipped of the wagon a bit,i just needed a bit of comfort on the taste buds,be ok in the morning for a bit,RE hearing aids,GF that's where i of to tomorrow,i had mine a few weeks now and is just to check how am doing,i also happy with mine,they are so different to the older ones,hear so much better,only downside is,when in a room with several other talking,i still cannot get clarity,only the amplyfication,it was explained to me last visit,they are the latest out,and to wear them as much as possible,to get my brain to recognise sounds again,and they set them,also they are being picked up by a signal at the hearing untit,so that they can see if the setting needs altering again,in other words,i am being tracked hehehe,another tip i was given was,when opening a new battery,give it a little rub and take time putting in,to wake the battery up,he will not look back now,i am not deaf,but do have lost off hearing,thank you NHS,i do not get funny eyes and groans from peeps now when i not hear what they say,before is was just a noise,you will all benefit now

[mothhawk]

Morning all.

Frosty out and I have a grory hop later so I'll have to slosh some cold water over the car windscreens. Can't be doing with scraping it, and as long as the temperature is 0C or above, I find that water works well.

Have a good day all.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Interesting technique, mothhawk. I shall pass on info to Mr Snoop. Thanks. No need this morning, however, as for some reason it's cloudy and relatively warm by recent standards, so no frost on the car (or elsewhere).

Comfort on your taste buds, LD... Great description. I get exactly the same need more often than is sensible in my case! Something nice or a different texture really hits the spot sometimes. Shame chocolate and nuts are so calorific...

Had quite a productive day yesterday, workwise. An irritating one ahead today but once I've got my head round the problems, I hope it'll be relatively plain sailing. Not sure what Mr Snoop's got planned, but we definitely need more kindling, so I shall add that to his agenda.

Nicos, is it feasible to have a recipe thread? Either where we post links or the actual recipe if it's one of our own? Maybe with an opening comment as a kind of index that we can add to, indicating the recipe name and the comment number so it's easy to find?

Right, best get the day on the go. The smiles are still asleep in their bag. Maybe if I get a coffee on the go, they might wake up to the smell and think biscuits are on offer (though fat chance of that in this dieting household at the moment). That might persuade them to shake a leg and get a move on (bizarre thought - smiles with legs).

Anyway, have a great day everyone.